Coping with Covid

By Veva Riddle

As students started this school year, most were thinking about how they were going to deal with online school, and with being away from their normal lives. McFarland is a rather tight knit community, and whereas in school, students would all be able to talk and discuss how they were dealing with everything, this is more difficult due to having to learn online. Many students feel alone, or isolated, and have struggled with the consequences of COVID-19, but that begs the question— are there any advantages or ways to make this feel better? What are students thinking now that we’re a few months into the school year?

Initial reactions from students

Based on a survey of a little under a hundred students at MHS, most students were unsurprised that we’d be starting school virtually. In fact, probably the most common response was “I expected it.” This was probably due to the fact that even at the time of school starting back in September, the situation of the pandemic was rather bad, and it was clear for a while before that that the idea of being around hundreds of other kids indoors was incredibly unsafe. Many students also stated that they were grateful to be starting from home, because they wanted to keel themselves, their peers, and their families safe. Others were unsure, and confused as to how it would work. This worried a lot of people, just because they didn’t know what to expect, or what they were about to get into. The fear of the unknown led to worries about too much homework and schedule conflicts.

Despite all that, some students were happy right from the start. A few students mentioned being excited to not have to wake up early, or leave the house, and a decent amount of freshmen thought that maybe virtual learning would lead to an easier transition into high school, since they wouldn’t have to fund their ways around a new building.

Academic struggles

In the survey, 46.4% of students reportedly had some, but not a lot, of academic struggles due to having to learn virtually. 28.9% had significant struggles, and the remaining 34% experienced no academic struggles at all. With the majority of students having had at least some troubles with online classes, and only about a third not having any at all, it’s pretty clear that for the most part, it’s been a great struggle for high school students in McFarland so far.

One of the most commonly reported issues from students was the workload, and how the work was presented. Many stated that it felt like it was all homework all the time, or like there was no escape from all of the work, which caused general stress. They also felt as if there was too much work, or maybe that it just felt like more because it was harder to do at home than it would have been to do at school. Students even said they weren’t learning enough, due to the workload being overwhelming, as well as the general structure of school.

Another large section of students mentioned problems with organization, and communication. They said that staying organized at home was hard, and keeping track of assignments that were all on a computer, sometimes in one single place, was too hard for them. Some students even said that falling into a loop of procrastination was easier, making it easy to fall behind, and that catching up on work once behind was difficult, because communication was hard. Whereas normally students would be able to visit a teacher in a classroom after school, or at lunch, or after class, this is a lot harder on zoom classes, and emailing a teacher can feel weird when that’s your only form of communication.

Social and emotional difficulties

In the survey, 37.1% of students reported having had at least some social or personal difficulties, but not a lot, and 28.9% reported having significant struggles. The other 34% reported no struggles at all. That leaves the majority of high school students with social struggles they’ve been dealing with because of online school and being at home.

The main issue that came up was feeling lonely, and not being able to see people. Students felt isolated, and alone. Hanging out with friends is possible, but difficult right now, and it’s best to be as safe as possible, so for some people in person socialization just isn’t possible. A few new students also mentioned that it was hard to socialize because they didn’t know anyone, and it was hard to reach out to people.

General mental health issues were also a topic. The amount of school work and the stress of learning in a new way is causing many students stress, and the lack of motives to leave the house now is in some cases causing high schoolers to feel depressed, and sad.

I also found mentions that were a little more simple, but still important. A couple of people said that looking at a screen all day made them tired, and hurt their eyes. Others said that chores were difficult to get done because of school, and it was hard to set up a workspace at home.

Benefits

Despite this situation being hard on many, people have found ways to make it work. 63.9% of students who answered in the survey said that they had found benefits to online learning, and only 36.1% didn’t.

One common theme in the responses was having a more relaxing, and generally comforting work environment, with less stress and social pressure. Lots of students felt as if being at home while doing their work was less stressful than being in a crowded building, and that they were more comfortable. This was both because it was familiar, and because it was safer concerning COVID.

A lot of students also reported having developed new hobbies, or participated in older hobbies more. Some hobbies repeatedly mentioned by students were baking, focusing on musical talents, taking care of plants, writing, reading, and cooking. I also saw a lot of people mentioning things like skateboarding, running, and just generally exercising and getting outside more. These are all great things to be doing, especially for students who need to be getting outside more, or who want to expand their interests.

Overall feelings

As a general question, students at MHS were asked how much they liked virtual learning in general, on a scale of 1-10, 1 being not at all, and 10 being very much. The highest number of students said that it was neutral, or a 5, on the scale, about 20.6%. This was followed by the lowest possible score, a 1, at 15.5%, and a 4 with 12.4%. For the most part, students were either relatively neutral, or didn’t like virtual learning very much. Very few students voted for the higher scores.

Students were also asked if their opinion on virtual learning had changed since the beginning of the year. 48.5% stated that their opinion hadn’t changed, 33% said that it was better than they had expected, and 18.6% didn’t like it as much as they thought they would. Despite the majority of students not liking it very much, it seems that at least not very many were disappointed, when they thought they’d like it, and most people got what they expected from it.

Judging by the reactions of students, it seems like we are all struggling, however, it’s also clear that many students are finding ways to cope. Even though this whole situation is difficult McFarland high school students are managing to thrive, and will likely continue to do so throughout the school year.